100 SSSS-fics: There's magic in the air
by Windfighter
Summary: Something in the Spirit World worries Lalli, and with help from Reynir he leaves to find the source.
Story 17 for the 100 SSSS-fic challenge, inspired by the word _Blood_. Those of you who know me can probably already guess what you're going to see :P

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Lalli ran. He knew something had happened, something bad, but he didn't know what. He stopped by the edge of his secret place, tore the wall open and jumped out.

"REYNIR!"

Onni called for him, but he ignored his cousin, he needed to know what was going on.

"Lalli, get back to the safe area!"

Onni grabbed his arm, but Lalli broke free, stared at him. Onni stared back, made another move to grab Lalli just as Reynir came. Lalli rushed towards him, towards the edge of the cliff.

"I must get over."

"Eee, I'm gonna help! Are you coming as well, Onni?"

Onni looked at Lalli and Reynir, backed away towards his sanctum again. Reynir stretched a hand towards him, but Lalli grabbed it instead.

"We don't have time for this, I must get over."

Reynir looked confused, but took hold of Lalli and Lalli pointed in the direction he wanted to go. He didn't know how to navigate the sea in the spirit world, but he knew where he was needed. The two of them stopped at the other side. There wasn't many mages out here, but they could see different areas with people sleeping all around them. Lalli took a couple of steps, went back, and walked in another direction. Magic was weak here. It existed, but it didn't feel like he was used to.

"Where are we going?"

Lalli looked around. The signal he had followed was getting dimmer, but after a couple minutes he pointed towards an area with houses.

"On the other side."

He started running, noticed how the other mage ran right through the area, while he had to run around it. He was certain he could have torn a hole in the wall if he had wanted to, but that was rude. Behind that area he saw the mountains. Reynir was already inside.

"Is it this one?"

Lalli nodded, put his hands against the invisible wall. He had to get inside there. Reynir waited patiently on the other side, having finally learned that Lalli couldn't pass spirit walls the same way he could. Lalli's eyes started glowing and he grabbed his knife. He hated doing it this way, it did more harm than good forcing a wall open, but he had no choice, he needed to get inside. The glow spread from his eyes, alongside his neck, his arm and gathered around the knife and Lalli buried the knife into the wall, pulled a hole in it and went inside.

"Where are we?"

Lalli didn't answer. He put the knife back and ran down the mountain, reached the field. He had seen it once before, that time allowed inside by the owner. This time he couldn't spot the owner, even though he knew the other had to be there.

"Guard the wall", he told Reynir, knowing fully well that Reynir wouldn't be able to harm anything that came through the opening. But he had to trust that Reynir's defence magic would be able to keep anything at bay until he returned. Reynir nodded, walked back up. Lalli knew the other wanted to come, even after 5 years in the Icelandic academy and 5 years as a mage in the Norwegian army he was still curious about the spirit world.

Lalli started running. He knew he could trust Reynir, they had worked together a couple of times already, but this was different, this was an area he didn't want to let anyone into. It wasn't his, but he still shared it with the actual owner.

He stopped when he reached the other side of the area without finding what he searched for, turned back around, and got to the mountain again without finding it. He bit his lip, Reynir still guarded the tear in the wall and Lalli started searching through the mountains.

Then, he slipped. He managed to land without hitting himself and turned around to see what he had slipped on. Something red, and he bent down to sniff it.

Blood.

He perched up again, looked at the trail of the blood and followed it. Something laid curled up against the invicible wall, something with blond, shoulder lenght hair and brown, furry clothes. Something covered in blood.

"Emil!"

The figure moved, coughed. Lalli ran to it, fell to his knees beside it and pulled it into his lap. The figure coughed again and Lalli pulled the hair from its face, traced its cheek with his hand. There was a large wound in the head, Lalli could see the person's brain through it.

"Emil..."

"La..."

The person coughed again. Blood ran over his lips and Lalli dried it off, pressed him against his chest.

"What... what happened?"

"Troll."

Lalli didn't need any other explaination. He hugged Emil tighter, silently cursed him for using up his strenght to call for Lalli, and Emil grabbed his sleeve, pulled at it.

"I wanted..." he coughed again, spewing up more blood, "...to see you... one last time."

Lalli buried his fingers in the Swede's hair, covered the wound as well as he could. Emil made a move to put his hand over Lalli's, but instead it fell down towards the ground. Emil's lips moved, but no sound came over them and Lalli laid down on the ground, pulled Emil to his chest. Buried his face in the Swede's hair.

"I'll die with you."

Emil took a shaky breath, closed his eyes. Lalli pulled him closed, tried not to let the tears fall, but couldn't stop them. He repeated his words, feeling Emil's weak breaths against his chest. Then, one single word, clearer than he had heard Emil in a long time.

"Live."

Emil's body relaxed in his arms. Lalli closed his eyes, pressing his arms even harder around the other, prepared to stay there until he died as well, but something grabbed him, pried his fingers away from Emil. He wanted to scream, lash out against whoever pulled him away, but he couldn't. Warm arms surrounded him and he wanted to break free, didn't felt comfortable, but they turned him around, hid his face inside the other's shirt.

"Crying is okay, Lalli."

Lalli cried, grabbed Reynir's tunic with his hands and cried until there was no more tears to cry. Reynir didn't say anything, didn't move, only waited for the other to calm down. Eventually Lalli stopped, and Reynir let him drop to his knees, followed him down. Released him from his embrace but still kept Lalli's hand in his. Both of them looked at the bloody form of their former friend and Lalli stretched on hand out, pulled Emil's hair away from his face and laid his arms over his chest.

"Are you ready to guide him?"

Lalli shook his head, but got up, pulled away from Reynir's grip and placed himself on the other side of Emil's body. Quietly he started the sending, Finnish words leaving his mouth, not translated by the spirit world because they were so much deeper than the spirit world could comprehend, and Reynir joining him, performing the sending in Icelandic. Two voices combined over the spirit of their friend and slowly it became transparent, the wounds healing. The spirit settled up, smiled towards his friends, reached a hand out towards Lalli. The hand went straight through Lalli's hair, but the spirit held it there for a few seconds.

"Live for me."

Lalli swallowed, looked at the spirit between him and Reynir, and then pronounced the last words, watching as the spirit left. His hands fell down into his lap and he watched as the area around him crumbled. Reynir got up, offered Lalli a hand, but Lalli got up on his own.

"I want to go back..."

Reynir nodded, followed Lalli to the sea again. Avoided passing through the areas and followed Lalli outside of them instead. Offered his hand to the Finn again when they reached the sea, but pulled it back when he couldn't catch the other's eyes.

"Tell me if I walk too fast."

Lalli didn't answer and Reynir jumped out over the water, heard Lalli following him. Tried not to walk to fast, but was also careful not to walk too slowly because if he did Lalli would turn back. He knew the other well enough by now. When they were almost over Lalli jumped into the water, swam the last bit and hurried into his own area. Reynir looked at it for a while, considered following him, but let out a sigh and turned around. He heard Onni calling for him, calling for Lalli, but knew Lalli wouldn't like it if he explained it to Onni.

"I'll come back in a week!" he called.

Onni protested, told him to come back and explain what had happened, but Reynir was already walking back over the water to his own sanctum. Lalli followed him with his eyes as he disappeared over the water, snuck back towards his raft and laid down ontop of it. He didn't close his eyes, didn't want to wake up. He rolled himself into a ball, hugged his legs and buried his face in his knees.

"I'll die with you."

He wouldn't die.


End file.
